Larry King Is Back, on Hulu This Time

After 19 months away, the hall-of-fame broadcaster and prolific interviewer will step back in front of the mic on Tuesday evening. Only this time he won't be live, and he won't be on cable.

Instead, King's return will occur on Hulu, which will serve as the exclusive distribute for Ora.tv, a digital television venture backed by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. Ora.tv's first show is Larry King Now, which will feature a familiar mix of notable names from politics and entertainment, lining up guests such as Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane, Meghan McCain and Matthew McConaughey during the show's first week. A teaser clip released yesterday shows King interviewing Betty White and Oliver Stone, among others.

Ora.tv's CEO, Jon Housman told Adweek in May that the new venture's rollout would be a slow process and as of this writing, the company has yet to announce any other programming for the network. Initially, Larry King Now will post new episodes to Hulu and Hulu Plus four nights a week in the early evenings—though the show will also be available on-demand. That scheduling strategy is a marked difference from this summer's other big Web video initiatives, HuffPost Live, which launches August 13 and will stream 12 hours of live content each day.

The launch of HuffPost Live and online video partnerships from the likes of new and legacy media ventures like BuzzFeed and The New York Times makes for a crowded space for King, who is known to attract an older demographic already. But Larry King Now appears to be trying to combat the age stereotype with a string of youth-appealing guests—along with a digital centric distribution strategy.

"I have always been driven to innovate," King said in a statement released by Ora.tv. "From my time on radio, to the first call-in show on national television, to being an early adopter of online columns and Twitter...I love being able to interact directly with audiences, and digital TV allows me to do this in new and powerful ways.”

After 19 months away, the hall-of-fame broadcaster and prolific interviewer will step back in front of the mic on Tuesday evening. Only this time he won't be live, and he won't be on cable.

Instead, King's return will occur on Hulu, which will serve as the exclusive distribute for Ora.tv, a digital television venture backed by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. Ora.tv's first show is Larry King Now, which will feature a familiar mix of notable names from politics and entertainment, lining up guests such as Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane, Meghan McCain and Matthew McConaughey during the show's first week. A teaser clip released yesterday shows King interviewing Betty White and Oliver Stone, among others.

Ora.tv's CEO, Jon Housman told Adweek in May that the new venture's rollout would be a slow process and as of this writing, the company has yet to announce any other programming for the network. Initially, Larry King Now will post new episodes to Hulu and Hulu Plus four nights a week in the early evenings—though the show will also be available on-demand. That scheduling strategy is a marked difference from this summer's other big Web video initiatives, HuffPost Live, which launches August 13 and will stream 12 hours of live content each day.

The launch of HuffPost Live and online video partnerships from the likes of new and legacy media ventures like BuzzFeed and The New York Times makes for a crowded space for King, who is known to attract an older demographic already. But Larry King Now appears to be trying to combat the age stereotype with a string of youth-appealing guests—along with a digital centric distribution strategy.

"I have always been driven to innovate," King said in a statement released by Ora.tv. "From my time on radio, to the first call-in show on national television, to being an early adopter of online columns and Twitter...I love being able to interact directly with audiences, and digital TV allows me to do this in new and powerful ways.”